


The Marriage of Anthony Bridgerton

by ayeka3b



Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29087064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayeka3b/pseuds/ayeka3b
Summary: Modern AUAnthony needs a wife to claim his inheritance. Kate needs a husband to stay in the UK. This is purely a business arrangement for a year that they will reveal to no one...until the press finds out and the are forced to keep up the ruse.Later chapters will include some bedroom time.
Relationships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield
Comments: 18
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I understand the set up is a bit contrived and admit I know nothing about UK inheritance or visa laws, but was inspired by an actual, contemporary prince who cannot marry the woman he loves because of clauses in his grandfather's will.

Anthony stood across from his future wife in a discrete back room at the registry office.  
She was neither blushing nor looking particularly pleased at all, if he was honest, but this marriage was only for a mutual, legal benefit and would be of a fixed duration.  
If Anthony felt, that, despite her obvious forced smile, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and, even standing next to her sometime model sister (as witness) whom he had stupidly thought was a good idea to pursue, well, he would keep that to himself.  
His inheritance, his company, and his family were dependent on this marriage, and her status in the UK to be close to her stepmother and sister required would be significantly eased with her marriage.  
This was a business arraignment, nothing more. They would not need to be seen together, nor, in fact, have contact outside of their work and a few meetings with a lawyer.  
And, if Benedict, who was currently standing next to him, had only given him a skeptical look as Anthony protested how very little feeling he actually had for Kate Sheffield, well, he could ignore that to.  
It was a business arrangement, he repeated to himself.  
What could possibly go wrong?

A few days earlier.  
He saw a figure stumbling on the law before taking out their phone to get some light and saw, to his surprise, that it was Kate Sheffield.  
The newest Bridgerton & Sons employee had been surreptitiously invited to the house party that weekend (solely because of her connection to Edwina his mother claimed) and had been trouble from start to finish, dropping pithy marks aimed that Colin seemed enamored of and besting him at Pall Mall so completely he was still smarting.  
Still, she was fun to have around, he had to concede. She brought liveliness to an otherwise dull event in which she seemed to be the only woman (besides her sister) not actively throwing herself into his path.  
He had quite enjoyed her sparring with Cressida Cowper, and he had to admit he was rather taken in when she had defiantly stayed at Penelope Featherington’s side despite the ridicule sent her way that caused people to distance themselves from her.  
He had found it almost amusing that this display had made Cressida rather angry but in a difficult position to show it without embarrassing herself.

When his secretary told him about the new employee, Anthony thought it a rather interesting coincidence, her being Edwina’s sister and all. Edwina Sheffield was considered one of the most beautiful women in London. Her family was on the outskirts of high society, but when Anthony had met her, he decided she would make as fine a wife as any and began pursuing her.  
He told himself it didn’t matter that their conversation was bland, and their time together less than thrilling. She was seen as a true catch given how reticent she had been in regards to most men, but it was heard loudly stated at an event that she would never date someone without her sister Kate’s approval.  
Seeing Kate hired felt like fate. Kate apparently had no idea who he was, Edwina never telling her about him (something Anthony pushed aside as indicative of anything problematic).  
Kate was eminently qualified for the position. Bridgerton & Sons was an investment firm and was expanding into America for more invest opportunities and Kate had graduated from Harvard law, having spent enough time in the country to have an American accent.  
She was technically Edwina’s stepsister and their father was American so Kate had spent quite a bit of time in the US, also with her mother’s relatives there.  
Anthony was also fully aware that Kate was hired solely as a consultant with his company and had a very limited work visa. She seemed to be searching for a way to stay in the UK longer as she didn’t have citizenship. Anthony wasn’t sure of the details, but assumed he could sort things out when he and Edwina married, something he should probably take care of quickly.  
For Anthony had to marry before he turned 31. The estates, houses, inheritance was all tied to it, and he would lose it all if he didn’t get married and stay married for at least a year. His great-great-grandfather’s will has laid out very specific instructions, and, with his father gone, it was his responsibility to ensure his family was taken care of.  
His family, his mother would be turned out of their houses, and they would all lose their ownership stakes in Bridgerton & Sons.

He had grown up with this knowledge of course, but hadn’t thought much of it, assuming a suitable girl would cross his path. He would, of course, keep love out of it, but that had posed a bigger challenge than he anticipated. Not because he had ever found a girl who stirred anything close to love within him, more that this lack of love seemed to be felt by most women and they had one of two responses. The first was a romanticized ideal that meant they could not live without love in and very Austenian sense. Grand gestures, romantic lives, these were things that Anthony would not provide and he refused to say I love you just for the sake of placating someone.  
Unfortunately, this meant he was left with option 2, which were, to put it bluntly, fortune hunters. They wanted the name, the title, the money, and they went to great lengths to try to find it.  
At least Edwina was refreshing in that sense. She was sweet and kind, but didn’t seem to be hung up on money or titles, though she didn’t seem to be hung up on him all that much at all. Still, perhaps that was for the best.  
Still, he wondered why he could not find a sensible woman who would understand and accept the limitations of such an arrangement without getting upset over the whole thing expecting more than he could give. Even if a woman could give him a year, for his solicitor told him that was all he needed to fulfill the terms of the will set out by his great-great grandfather and passed along through the generation. The women he ran across, however, would never accept such a deal. They either wanted true love or would hang on for all they were worth and drag any thoughts of a quick and easy divorce through the mud, taking as much as they could with them.  
That was why his eye was settled on Edwina. He felt he could live a good life with her with the time he had left and then she would be left with a comfortable legacy in which to raise whatever children they would have. His death before 40 would of course be traumatic, but there would not truly be any attachment between them and she would be comforted by his large family. It would work out well.  
If only her rather difficult sister would cooperate.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate had taken a dislike to Anthony almost from the start. To be fair, he a bit of a reputation with women, but still, he was her boss (or at least the CEO of the company she worked at). Yet, she was always doing her best to keep him and Edwina apart. He had even ended up in the Serpentine because of her and her antics. (Anthony batted away the fact that in brief walk to that destination he had one of the most interesting conversations not either related to work or involving a family member in a long time, Edwina included).

But Kate was lively, funny, and challenging. She was fiercely intelligent, yet completely open about the fact that her knowledge base was limited to those subjects in which she was interested in.  
She openly told him no at work, something few employees dared to do, and she was good at her job.

(Anthony has also learned that her favorite color was blue, loved lilies, listened to 80s music, ate lunch at her desk most days, never skipped dessert, preferred flats, carried a backpack, and had never had a boyfriend for more than a few months. You know, normal things to know about an employee who had worked for you for less than a month.)  
(He also did not dwell on the fact that he did not know what Edwina’s favorite color was, what music she listened to, or a hundred other details that one might think relevant.)

And now, she was here, at his house, and Anthony should have been furious, but he kept seeking her out, trying to find her.  
He wasn’t quite certain why. She had admitted that she had promised her sister to be on her best behavior, but he had pointed out that her time at Pall Mall seemed to speak otherwise. She had responded that she could hardly let his brother Colin down, could she?  
He frowned to himself. Her and Colin seemed to be a bit too buddy buddy for Anthony’s tastes.  
He couldn’t remember a single thing he had said to Edwina but seemed to remember every moment with Kate.

He sighed to himself, thinking about Edwina. The truth was she didn’t seem all that interested in him. She was kind and polite but not particularly engaged. She kept talking about romantic novels which gave Anthony the sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t be too interested in a loveless marriage, and she was much too open for Anthony to be anything but honest with her.

He directed his attention back to the figure on the lawn late at night.  
“What on Earth is she doing?” Anthony asked to no one in particular.  
“Who dear?” his mother asked behind him.  
“Kate, what is she doing wandering around the grounds at night?”  
“Oh, going to the observatory, I suspect,” his mother answered, not looking up from her embroidery.  
The observatory was the generous name for the small stone building in the middle of a field that happened to have a telescope in it.  
“Why?”  
“She likes stars I understand,” his mother said without looking up, “something about light pollution in the city.”  
His mother paused, “I hope she doesn’t fall over the old stone wall out in the east field.”

Anthony pondered his thoughts about Kate’s sister. She would make the perfect wife to show to the world, but there was little chance of her agreeing to marry him when they had so little in common.

But maybe there was another way. Maybe he could find someone who he could make a deal with. Someone who would benefit from a marriage but wouldn’t try to stay married unnecessarily or make a public spectacle of things. He only needed to be married a year and then the estates, the company, everything would be secure.  
But he would need a woman who was absolutely not in love with him and would have no desire to stay married to him when the year was up, but also not want to lay claim on the Bridgerton name or the perks that came with it. Someone who would not try to drag him through the mud. Someone who could be discrete, and would act quietly in mutual best interests.

He saw the darkened figure continue to stumble across the field.  
“I think I’ll take a walk,” Anthony said abruptly.  
“Of course, dear,” his mother said, but if he noticed the smile on her face, he said nothing about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is taking long to update. Like most things I write, I have a lot of the end, some of the middle, and difficulty getting the characters there.

Anthony crossed the lawn to the small building known as the observatory. It was quite neglected and off the general walking paths, meaning that someone could easily trip and get hurt on their way there.  
Well, at least that’s what Anthony told himself as justification for following Kate into the dark evening.

He came up to the observatory as she was adjusting the telescope.  
“Boo,” he was pleased to see her jump as she turned but saw her face register annoyance when she saw it was him.  
“What are you, 12?” she immediately went back to the telescope.  
Anthony grinned, “What are you doing?”  
“Realigning your telescope,” she said without looking up.  
“Does it still work?” he asked.  
She looked up, “did you actually just asked me if a tube with some lenses in it still worked?”  
“It’s like a hundred years old Sheffield, you don’t need to be obnoxious,” he walked to a stone bench set into the wall.  
“It’s closer to 40 years old and someone has been taking care of it.”  
That surprised Anthony, he didn’t know who would be doing that.  
He decided a change of subject was in order, “since when do you know about telescopes?”  
“I can be more than one thing, people can like more than one thing, like you. You’re a lord who likes lordship thing,” she said almost quizzically,” and…sweaters?” she shrugged.  
Anthony laughed. She seemed to make him laugh even when she was infuriating him.  
“Sweaters?”  
“Well, you’re wearing one,” she muttered, adjusting the telescope, but then looked up at him, “and what exactly does a lord do?”  
“I wouldn’t know,” he replied,” as I am a viscount.”  
“But everyone calls you lord.”  
“You don’t,” he pointed out and she rolled her eyes.  
“We threw off the chains of royalist oppression generations ago.”  
“What exactly are you doing?”  
“Looking at the stars,” she said matter of factly, “you have a nice telescope and very little light pollution, so it seemed like a good idea to try.” She adjusted something, “here, come take a look.”  
“Me?”  
She rolled her eyes, “no my imaginary friend, of course you Brigderton.”  
He stepped up to the telescope and looked through to a starscape. “What am I looking at exactly?”  
“The moon,” he could hear the sarcasm dripping off her voice, “specifically, the Tycho crater.”  
He turned to say something sharp but his breath caught in his throat, seeing her framed by the night sky, he realized how beautiful she was. How, in being compared to her sister, she was overlooked, but how could that be.  
She nudged him aside and began adjusting the telescope.  
Anthony observed her more closely. He saw that Kate was Edwina’s equal in beauty, just different. Why had he not seen it?  
She was tall and lithe like her sister, but while Edwina’s features were soft and angelic, Kate had hard curves and sharp cheek bones. Looking at her, he wondered if Kate underplayed her beauty to let Edwina shine.  
He shook his head. Why was he thinking about Kate’s beauty? It hardly mattered for his purposes.

“I don’t think your sister wants to marry me,” he blurted out. Why had he said that?  
Kate paused, adjusting something, “No, I don’t think she does.” He waited for the barb, the I told you so, but Kate turned to him and said, “I’m sorry.”  
He was momentarily stunned, but before he could react, she said, “here, Orion’s belt,” and moved out of the way so he could look, “most people try to find the North Star, but the belt can sometimes be more identifiable.” She paused, “I hope you find someone who will marry you,” she said quietly and seemed to mean it.  
He lifted his eye, “I don’t-” he started.  
“I just mean,” she pushed him aside and began to recalibrate the telescope as she spoke, “that I know you have limited time and while I still think your reputation with women is well deserved, that doesn’t mean that I think you should lose everything, or your family. And I saw what you did for Penelope earlier and how you interact with your family and you may not have been quite as bad as I thought you were,” it came out of her in a rush like she needed to get it all out at once.  
Another beat, “Canus major and minor,” she stepped aside but he didn’t move, and just stared.  
Kate had learned of his predicament after a particularly bad phone call he had taken in the small dressing room that connected to his office at work, not realizing she was in his office. She had heard everything, the fact that he needed to marry in order to keep the Bridgerton property in the family, the fact that he intended to marry Edwina, regardless of his feelings, the fact that the only thing he cared about was ensuring the status quo.  
He had been so angry at her at the time. She had shot back that, saying that it was the first she had heard of it and she had a right to protect her sister, who would never marry without Kate’s blessing.  
He was so upset that she had found out, why had he called her to his office in the first place that day? He hadn’t really needed to talk to her but Anthony was already becoming intrigued by her and wanted to spend time with her.  
Now, he was glad that she knew.  
He was also glad at the fact that he never actually, technically been dating Edwina. Reviewing their interactions, he realized that someone could easily see her as a friend of his sister that he had simply been kind to.  
“It contains Luyten’s star, one of the closets to Earth, “she chattered on to try to fill the space.  
“Marry me,” he said, quite suddenly, stunning even himself.  
“Excuse me.”  
“You heard me.”  
She paused, “I don’t think I could have possibly heard what you said correctly,” as she stared at him.  
“Marry me.”  
“Are you insane? You don’t like me, and I don’t like you.”  
“You just said that I wasn’t as bad as you had thought.”  
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean-“  
“It would solve both our issues.”  
That brought her up short.  
“I need a wife to ensure the property stays in my family. You need to stay in the UK, and would have resources for your mother and sister.”  
“We would kill each other,” she insisted, “besides, no one would believe that we would actually get married.”  
“That’s the beauty of this idea,” he began to pace, “no one would have to know, we wouldn’t have to do anything differently than we do now and nothing would change.” Anthony came closer, “we could have it done quietly, at the registrar’s office and leave it at that. Live separately, not tell our families or anyone else.”  
Kate stared at him like he had grown a second head, “but marriage-“ she started.  
“I only need a year, that’s it. Then I will have full control of the estates, and that would be as long as it would take for you to get citizenship and could stay in the country.”  
Kate paused.   
He was surprised she was considering it, but he had to admit it was a good plan. He would not fall in love with her, she would not expect any romance from him. Nor, he was certain, would she try to stay married to him or drag a nasty divorce out in a year. She wasn’t impressed by the title or money, she would not demand the trappings of viscountess’ life, and would move along without issue.  
A small pain bloomed in Anthony’s heart at that, but he pushed it away.  
Kate was still silent, and he pressed, “look, citizenship would give you much more flexibility. And I’m sure we can find people who would be able to do it without alerting anyone. No one pays much attention to the Bridgetons anyway.”  
Kate snorted, “Lady Whisteldown does.  
“You read that dreck?!”   
“It helped me get the measure of you, “she shot back.  
Another pause, but before Anthony could continue his reasons, Kate spoke up.  
“You promise, no one would know?”  
“Absolutely,” though he fail to tell her about the witnesses needed and that one had to be a family member for the will’s purposes. (Anthony went through his siblings in his mind. Hyacinth was too young, Gregory too untested, Francesca would outright refuse to participate in anything not true love, Eloise would keep it secret for exactly 3 seconds, Daphne would disapprove, and Colin…well Colin would be worse than Eloise which left Benedict).  
“I wouldn’t treat you any differently,” she said, “I will still tell you when you are wrong.”  
Anthony grinned, “I would expect nothing less.”  
“And I don’t want to change my name, or have to go to parties and wear heels, or spend time with you.”  
“You wound me,” he said it in jest but was surprised it was true, “but no, you wouldn’t have to.”  
Kate fidgeted and bit her lip and Anthony imagined biting it as well.  
Wait, where did that come from? No, he couldn’t think of her like that.  
Anthony decided to press it, “Kate Amelia Sheffield, will you marry me for tax purposes?”  
Kate frowned, “how do you know my middle name?”  
How did he know that, “Edwina must have told me,” was what he came out with, but, in truth, he wasn’t sure and didn’t even know Edwina’s middle name.  
Kate sighed, “all right, but nothing, and I mean nothing can get out about this.”  
“Wonderful,” Anthony said, “though I do think these things are traditional sealed with a kiss.”  
Kate looked stricken.  
“Relax Sheffield, I was only joking,” he said, but he had to admit more disappointed to himself (push it away Anthony), “you’re headed back tomorrow morning right?” he asked and Kate nodded, “I will take care of the details and we can get this taken care of this week.”  
Kate nodded, and he once again wondered what she was thinking.  
“Come along, we should get back to the house.”  
Kate nodded and then glared at him, “you will not tell me what to do,” she actually crossed her arms at that and Anthony hat to stifle a laugh.  
“It’s late and I have things to do,” he moved to grab her hand but thought better of it and swept it out indicating that she was to walk ahead of him.  
“Go ahead then. I will go in when I’m good and ready.”  
Anthony sighed, “I can’t have my bride to be break her neck.”  
Kate’s eyes narrowed, “keep that up and I will kill you.”  
He didn’t stifle his laugh this time and she growled in frustration.  
He sighed, “please just come back to the house. It’s late and dark and I would feel better if I was sure you wouldn’t break you neck on the way back.”  
“Fine,” Kate mutter petulantly, walking ahead.  
Anthony whistled a bit.  
“Will you stop being so…so…happy,” she demanded.  
“You will grow to love me, “he taunted.  
“This is a mistake,” she muttered, stomping ahead.  
He caught up and grabbed her arm, “I’m sorry, Kate, you’re just too easy to rile, “ she growled, “it’s just that this is the perfect solution. We are both going in eyes open, knowing what we need out of this marriage. We are friends,” she shot her yes to him, “of a sort,” he added, “and you are the most honest woman outside of my family I know.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You’re not afraid of me,” she snorted, and he continued, “but you also aren’t working an angle, trying to get to my money or title, and you’re not expecting a love story to come out of this”  
She looked appalled, “Money and title, who would do that?” she demanded  
“You’d be surprised with the women I deal with,” he muttered.  
They were almost at the house.  
“You’d better give me a head start,” she said.  
Anthony looked at her questionlly.  
“If anyone sees us walk in together at this time of night, they will talk.”  
“Nonsense,” he dismissed it, “I’ll take you to your room.”  
“That would be even worse,” she turned and stared at him, “The only reason I’m agreeing to this is because I need the help, and I would hate to have your mother and siblings kicked out of this beautiful house,” she gestured around here.  
Anthony felt something inside his chest, something dangerous, something he had not felt before, but he stamped it down, hard and fast.  
Before he could say anything, like a true lawyer she said, “let me know what the next steps are,” and she turned and walked into the house, her hips swaying ever so slightly.

He waited a moment, staring up the sky, which seemed to have opened up to him. This will work, he told himself. No messy entanglements, no love. It was perfect.

That was the first night Anthony dreamed of Kate.


	4. Chapter 4

Anthony woke the morning after his wedding hung over in his bed. Alone.  
Not the situation he had ever expected would follow such an event, but appropriate given the players   
involved.

Though the pornographic dream he had experienced regarding the woman who was now his wife, but whom he would never have that way did not help his mood.

He gets out of bed, ignoring his phone for the first time in years, and makes his way downstairs. Coffee, he needs coffee.

He gets the coffee going (and silently thanks his housekeeper, Mrs. Filson for having it ready to go) before turning on the news out of habit and walking to his door to grab the paper that the doorman would have left there.

Leafing through it almost automatically, he almost misses what the news reader is saying, until he hits on the headline in the paper and snaps his head up, grabbing the remote and turning up the volume.

“That’s right, London’s most eligible Bachler is now taken,” the reporter says as Anthony stares at the headline that states the same with his picture underneath, “Viscount Anthony Bridgerton filed a marriage license yesterday that was uncovered through sleuthing by diligent reporters.  
His mystery bride, Kate Sheffield, is an attorney working at Birdgerton & Co, but she’s so unknown, the only pictures we have of her are from her sister, Edwina’s Instagram….”

The reporter continued to talk as Anthony stared stupidly.  
“Fuck,” was all he managed to get out.

His landline rang. No one called his land line, no one had the number, except…  
He saw the number identified as his mother’s.  
He never ignored calls from his mother. She was not the type to bother him unnecessarily, but he could not face her.

He headed upstairs to get his cell and saw a litany of missed calls and texts that he was just beginning to go through when Daphne called and he answered it out of habit.  
“What the hell is going on?!,” she yelled.  
“Daphne, I-“ he began, but she cut him off.  
“Why wouldn’t you tell us you got married?” she was angry.  
“No one was supposed to know, it was-“  
Daphne continued as if she hadn’t heard him, “to do so secretively, it will break mama’s heart.”  
Anthony sighed, “Daphne, I can explain-“  
But his sister wasn’t stopping, “Are you with her now?”  
“No,” Anthony said almost petulantly and he heard Simon laugh in the background.  
“Well, you better get to he because the paparazzi are surrounding her apartment.”

His phone beeped and saw Michael Stirling calling, “Daphne, that’s Stirling, I’ll have to call you back.”  
“You’d better, and Anthony-“ but he had already switched to Michael.

“Anthony, I would have though you’d give me a heads up about these sorts of thing,” came the Scottish brogue.  
Anthony contracted with Stirling Brothers for the family’s security needs. Technically, Michael and John were cousins, but they and taken over from their fathers who were brothers and did not change the name.

“It wasn’t supposed to get out,” Anthony protested quickly, putting Michael in speaker so he could quickly dress.  
“Well, if you had told us, maybe we could have helped with that,” came John’s censure.  
“The paps are at her apartment,” Anthony said, trying to move on.  
“I know, we’re watching it unfold, but we’re in a contractual grey area as we cannot storm in and try to protect people at random and we were unsure where Miss Sheffield, excuse me, Mrs. Bridgerton fell in all this.”  
Anthony swore silently to himself, “she’ll need protection.”

He heard Francesca pipe up, “I don’t think Kate would appreciate some goons showing and up and telling her they’re there to rescue her.”   
Francesca had proven herself quite a capable manager with a rather amazing talent for computers, but, despite Anthony’s best efforts, he could not manage to get her to come work for Bridgerton & Co(you’re name’s in the company he had reasoned).  
He wondered if it had something to do with the way both Stirling brothers looked at her, but Anthony didn’t have tome to consider that right now.

“We don’t hire goons,” Michel protested, but Francesca continued onward, “and, while we will discuss your secret wedding later,” she emphasized the word secret, “I’m also tracking social media traffic about Kate at the moment and I’m not liking what I’m seeing. Nothing has coalesced to actual threat, but there are a lot of women who feel cheated out a husband.”  
“Do I actually know any of these women?” Anthony queried.  
“No, but that doesn’t stop anyone.”  
Anthony sighed as he headed downstairs again to put his shoes on.

“There’s more bad news, mate,” John said, “she’s in a building without a doorman on weekends and I don’t see a way we can ensure her safety without taking over a few nearby apartments, or frankly the whole building.”  
“Who doesn’t have a doorman on weekends?”  
“The apartment was leased by Bridgerton & Co for her so it is your fault,” Francesca informed him.  
“The point is,” John added, “that we don’t know how long before the paps get into the building and-“  
“What about my apartment?” the question was out before Anthony knew it had formed.  
He heard an intake of breath on the other end. Anthony did not have women to his apartment who were not related to him, ever.  
“Is my apartment secure enough for her?’  
“Of course,” Michael said.  
“Good, I’ll go pick her up then,” and he disconnected the phone.

As he grabbed his keys to head out the door, he reflected on the fact that, while he always knew he would need see past 38, he was seriously wondering if he would see to the end of next week once Kate saw him.


End file.
